Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
More than 7 million viewers are captivated weekly by
Fringe, a science fiction procedural in the best tradition of
The X-Files with a taut central mythology, rich characters, and it’s own laboratory cow. In its weekly cases and its overarching plot,
Fringe strikes a compelling balance between the strange and the familiar, and the quirky and the tragic.
Fringe Science delves into the science, science fiction, and pseudoscience of Fringe with a collection of essays by science and science fiction writers on everything from alternate universes to time travel to genetically targeted toxins, as well as discussions on the show’s moral philosophy and the consequences of playing God.
Synopsis
Fringe has always been more than the sum of its partsbut its parts, too, are worth a closer look. The show combines a surfeit of mad science, some old-school sci-fi flair, and a dash of strawberry-milkshake whimsy to create the challenging, fascinating Pattern that keeps us coming back season after season and universe after universe.
Now, in Fringe Science, cutting-edge scientists, science writers, and science fiction authors and historians provide a smart, savvy, and accessible look at the world(s) of Fringe.
MIT physics professor Max Tegmark illuminates the real-life possibilities of parallel universes
Stephen Cass, founding editor of Discover's Science Not Fiction blog and a Senior Editor with Technology Review, unravels Fringe's use of time travel
Award-winning science fiction historian Amy H. Sturgis walks us through the show's literary and television ancestors, from the 1800s on
Television Without Pity staff writer Jacob Clifton looks at the role of the scientist, and scientific redemption, through the ever-shifting role of Massive Dynamic
Garth Sundem, bestselling author of Brain Candy, explores the mysterious way that memory works, from why Walter forgets to how Olivia remembers
And more, from lab cow Gene's scientific résumé to why the Observers should be wearing white lab coats
About the Author
Kevin R. Grazier, Ph.D., is a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. There he has won numerous JPL- and NASA-wide awards for technical accomplishment. Dr. Grazier holds undergraduate degrees in computer science and geology from Purdue University, and another in physics from Oakland University. He holds an M.S. degree in physics from, again, Purdue, and he did his doctoral research at UCLA. His research involves numerical method development and long-term, large-scale computer simulations of Solar System evolution, dynamics, and chaos. Kevin is currently the science adviser for the SyFy Channel series
Eureka, and also served in this role for the Peabody Awardwinning
Battlestar Galactica and the animated series
The Zula Patrol. Committed to astronomical education, Dr. Grazier teaches classes in stellar astronomy, planetary science, cosmology, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the science of science fiction at UCLA and Santa Monica College. He has served on several NASA educational product review panels, and can be seen on numerous TV science documentaries. He lives in Sylmar, CA with a mischief of rats, a flock of psitticines, a precocious parrot, and Kermit the Dog.
Contributors to Fringe Science include: Brendan Allison, Amy Berner, Bruce Bethke, Mike Brotherton, Stephen Cass, Jacob Clifton, Jovana Grbic, Robert Jeschonek, Paul Levinson, Nick Mamatas, Amy H. Sturgis, Garth Sundem, and David Thomas
Table of Contents
Introduction Kevin R. Grazier
Paranormal Is the New Normal” David Thomas
In Search of Fringes Literary Ancestors” Amy H. Sturgis
The Return of 1950s Science Fiction in Fringe” Paul Levinson
Parallel Universes” Max Tegmark
Déjà New” Mike Brotherton
The Malleability of Memory” Garth Sundem
Fringe Diseases” Jovana Grbic
The Fringes of Neurotechnology” Brendan Allison
Of White Tulips and Wormholes” Stephen Cass
Moo” Amy Berner
Waltered States” Nick Mamatas
Fringe Double-Blinded Me With Science” Robert T. Jeschonek
Massive Dynamic” Jacob Clifton